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Title & Author: The Favourites by Layne Fargo
My rating: 5/5
Publisher: Chatto & Windus
Publication date: 16th January 2025
Blurb:
Everyone thinks Heath Rocha was my first love. He wasn't. My first love was figure skating.
Katarina Shaw has always known she’s destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating – and each other – to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating fans with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style and rollercoaster relationship.
Until, at the Olympic Games, as the world holds its breath, a shocking incident instantly destroys their partnership.
Ten years later, an unauthorised tell-all documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha. If Kat wants to own her story, she must break her silence. As Kat’s account of her dramatic rise and fall alternates with scandalous interviews from the film, The Favourites spins into a dance between passion, ambition and what it truly means to win.
Sensational rumours have haunted Kat and Heath’s every step for years, but the truth may be even more outrageous than the headlines.
Review:
The Favourites is kind of a modern retelling of Wuthering Heights set in the world of competitive figure skating and I fell in love. So much so that I read it on my Kindle, purchased the hardcover, went on to purchase the Goldsboro special edition and then listened to the audio.
The Favourites was one of my most anticipated book releases of 2025 but it totally blew my expectations out of the water and there is no doubt that it's up there as one of my favourite books ever. I haven't felt this way since I read The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo.
I know nothing about figure skating but feel like I learnt a lot through this novel. The Favourites is told from the point of view of Katarina Shaw, who is recounting her skating career and personal life; from her childhood and meeting Heath Rocha, who would become her skating partner (and much more than that!) up to present day.
There is also a documentary being made about Katarina and Heath so we have snippets of thoughts and opinions from other skaters, judges and coaches who knew the couple at the height of their careers. (When listening to the audio version, I have to say that Johnny Weir's narration of Ellis Dean was fantastic!) I absolutely love the depth that this adds to the book and it helps build the suspense of what happened next in their lives.
I was totally enthralled by this world, the relationship between Katarina and Heath (which is not at all plain sailing) and the intensity between them but also the love for figure skating, particularly on Katarina's part, and the drama in the skating world when it gets to competitive level.
I feel like my words cannot do justice for how this book made me feel. Just incredible!
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